MWC 2017: The Highlights So Far

Well, it’s two days down and two to go at Mobile World Congress 2017. As we’ve reached the halfway point of this year’s event, it’s time to review some of the highlights so far.

Phones Old and New Take Centre Stage

It should come as a surprise to no one that a whole host of new phones have been unveiled at MWC 2017. Sony, LG and Motorola all used the biggest mobile industry event in the world to reveal new devices. But perhaps the biggest announcement was not the launch of a phone, but rather the launch date of a phone.

Breaking with convention, Samsung didn’t use this year’s event to reveal the much anticipated Galaxy S8. Instead they announced that the phone will be unveiled at a special event in New York on March 29.

Interestingly, so far MWC 2017 has been less a case of ‘out with the old, in the with new’ and more about ‘in with the new and back in with some of the old’. While many cutting-edge smartphones were launched, two more ‘classical’ looking handsets stole the limelight from a lot of their competition.

The TCL/BlackBerry produced KeyOne drew some attention for offering a physical keyboard, as well as BlackBerry’s security and workflow applications. While HMD turned the nostalgia dial up to ten with the Nokia 3310 – a reimagined version of the classic feature phone.

Connected Cars Bring Automotive Manufacturers and OEMs Together

Exhibits from BMW, Daimler and Ford all showcased the evolving area of connected and driverless cars. Another notable highlight was the Peugeot Instinct – a concept car that is the product of a partnership between the French manufacturer and the Samsung Artik Cloud (SAC) IoT connectivity platform. By communicating with SAC-enabled devices, the car uses data from smartwatches, smartphones and social networks to make a profile of the driver.

Time to Pay With Huawei

The announcement of the Huawei Watch 2 and Watch 2 Classic is sure to interest followers of digital payment developments. Powered by Android Wear 2.0, both watches – which were revealed during MWC 2017 – harness NFC technology to allow convenient and secure payments through Android Pay.

MasterCard and Oracle Partner on Okr! With MasterPass

Announced on the opening day of the event, MasterCard’s partnership with Oracle is set to expand the use of the Okr! with MasterPass mobile app. The mobile payment solution will enable people in a bar or restaurant to order and pay for goods and services in advance – without needing to wait to be served.

mVisa Payment Goes Live in India, Kenya and Rwanda

Monday also saw Visa announce at MWC 2017 that its mVisa Payment solution – which harnesses QR code technology – is now available for merchants and customers in India, Kenya and Rwanda. The technology will also soon be released in other emerging markets – including Egypt and Pakistan. This mVisa solution enables customers to use their smartphones to make payments through a dedicated QR code at a merchant’s store location.